I think it was due last year, so instead of buying an E-P5, waited and waited and waited then...nothing. Then Olympus announced the E-PL7 with the selfie feature which is when I knew nothing was going to happen, gave up waiting and just bought the E-P5. I'm glad I did, as there seems to be nothing by way of speculation of a successor.

TBH until there is an E-M1ii (for it to sit between and the E-M5ii) I am happy to wait. Getting a pseudo M3 between the two in the PEN form factor for cheap was pretty brilliant and I don't mind if they continue

It seems strange to have a Pen Lite when there's not a full-spec Pen for there to be a Lite version of it (if that makes sense!)

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Right, originally Olympus were quite clear that the L and M in their smaller PEN cameras indicated Lite and Mini versions, some of their marketing for earlier PL cameras uses the "PEN Lite" phrase quite a lot. But they seem to have dropped that completely, in Europe anyway - "Lite" is never mentioned and to someone new to the system the L would just be yet another a meaningless letter.

There seems to be a clear implication that all L versions are for women and the E-P5 is for "real men", ideally heavily bearded real men. So if there are no more full-spec PENs men will either have to make do with old technology or move to OMD. Meanwhile how to choose between versions 5, 6, and 7 of the E-PL? The blurb for all of them talks about style and fitting in a handbag. Why pay more for a 7 when it is so hard to find out what makes it different from earlier versions?

The equivalent page for the OMD range does at least make it a little clearer how the 4 current models relate to each other. OK, phrases like "passionate professionals" and "inspirational newcomers" don't mean a lot, but they at least give a rough idea how the company itself views their range.

I always thought that they would eventually come out with an E-P7 that incorporated an EVF though.

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The EVF is the key. I just don't think that removable VF have proven to be that popular and most want an EVF in a high end camera. For some reason Olympus has resisted putting an EVF in the Pens. We know they can be made small (RX100 III & IV) so I can only assume they are still being fiscally conservative because of the scandal. Just to note, the E-P5 also got hurt by the early "shutter shock" issue and it never really recovered once it was fixed.

Just to note, the E-P5 also got hurt by the early "shutter shock" issue and it never really recovered once it was fixed.

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Yeah that was the weird part - I mean I swear I've seen people referencing running into that on the very early M43 cameras (GF2?) as well. All of a sudden DPR discover it as an issue, and it's the thing that kills the E-P5 specifically. No mention of it on the PM2 or EM5 or anything else you can generate it on - it is definitely all new and all to do with the E-P5. And it's one of the few cameras that actually received the update to fix it ...

I mean, I'm not mad they noticed, and maybe they even helped push to get the fix for it out, but the whole thing played out super weird.

There seems to be a clear implication that all L versions are for women and the E-P5 is for "real men", ideally heavily bearded real men. So if there are no more full-spec PENs men will either have to make do with old technology or move to OMD. Meanwhile how to choose between versions 5, 6, and 7 of the E-PL? The blurb for all of them talks about style and fitting in a handbag. Why pay more for a 7 when it is so hard to find out what makes it different from earlier versions?

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That Oly web page is a dreadful piece of sexist stereotyping. Truth be known, there's no real need for more than 2 Pen models - perhaps no more than 1 in fact.

I agree. I had one for a while and loved it in all ways except the lack of an inbuilt EVF. The rear screen is too limiting and the external EVF is clumsy, prone to damage and spoils the lines of the camera. I for one would prefer a "hump-less" camera and would chose a Pen with an EVF ahead of an E-M1 or E-M5.

Yeah that was the weird part - I mean I swear I've seen people referencing running into that on the very early M43 cameras (GF2?) as well. All of a sudden DPR discover it as an issue, and it's the thing that kills the E-P5 specifically. No mention of it on the PM2 or EM5 or anything else you can generate it on - it is definitely all new and all to do with the E-P5. And it's one of the few cameras that actually received the update to fix it ...

I mean, I'm not mad they noticed, and maybe they even helped push to get the fix for it out, but the whole thing played out super weird.

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I ran an E-M5 and E-P5 together for a little while. Without doubt the E-P5 suffered severe shutter shock whilst the E-M5 hardly does at all. The shutter mechanism on the two is quite different. The 0s anti-shock (EFCS) fixed the problem completely.

Right, originally Olympus were quite clear that the L and M in their smaller PEN cameras indicated Lite and Mini versions, some of their marketing for earlier PL cameras uses the "PEN Lite" phrase quite a lot. But they seem to have dropped that completely, in Europe anyway - "Lite" is never mentioned and to someone new to the system the L would just be yet another a meaningless letter.

There seems to be a clear implication that all L versions are for women and the E-P5 is for "real men", ideally heavily bearded real men. So if there are no more full-spec PENs men will either have to make do with old technology or move to OMD. Meanwhile how to choose between versions 5, 6, and 7 of the E-PL? The blurb for all of them talks about style and fitting in a handbag. Why pay more for a 7 when it is so hard to find out what makes it different from earlier versions?

The equivalent page for the OMD range does at least make it a little clearer how the 4 current models relate to each other. OK, phrases like "passionate professionals" and "inspirational newcomers" don't mean a lot, but they at least give a rough idea how the company itself views their range.